A tight campaign schedule mixed with a key road closure and faulty GPS directions led to the truncation of an already shortened tour of a Chesapeake Energy drilling operation, but the pro-drilling candidate left encouraged.

"I was impressed," Phillips said. "I'm convinced that we can move forward with this in New York state."

The rig tour was one of at least four stops Tuesday for the Phillips campaign, which was driven to Chesapeake's Towanda office by company representatives immediately after a candidates' forum in Binghamton. After a presentation at the office stretched until 1:15 p.m., a three-vehicle caravan left for the Laceyville drill site, about 25 miles away.

However, a road leading to the site was closed for repairs by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, blocking access. Phillips and the caravan finally made it to the site at 2:20 p.m. after a Chesapeake employee called the company office for directions when his GPS directed him back toward the closed road.

With the candidate due at a fundraiser in Ulster County at 5:30 p.m., that left about 20 minutes for a makeshift tour while staring up at the drill rig.

Phillips admitted he was "a little bit" disappointed there wasn't more time for an in-depth tour, but said his first trip to a rig was still valuable.

"It's tough on the campaign, in terms of time," he said. "We were asked to come down here and we've been talking to landowners, but I wanted one last look at it here before we went into the homestretch of the campaign, because I think this is going to be incredibly important for the future of the Southern Tier."

Chesapeake Local Government Specialist Mike Atchie tried to put a positive spin on the tours' misadventures.

"People say there are drilling rigs everywhere, but we got lost trying to find one," Atchie said. "That's a testament to the actual number of sites there are."

Natural gas drilling in the Southern Tier has been a major issue in the race between Phillips and incumbent U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-Hurley. Hinchey has been a proponent for strong federal regulations with regard to hydraulic fracturing, a drilling technique in which a mix of sand, water and chemicals is blasted underground to break up shale and release gas. Phillips, meanwhile, has touted the economic potential of natural gas development and said he doesn't have many concerns about the process.

"We need the jobs, and we can do this in an environmentally safe manner," Phillips said. "Let's move forward."